The Sunday Mail
FOR close to a decade, people who wanted to travel from Mudzi district in Mashonaland East province to Nyanga in Manicaland had to make a round trip through Harare or other longer routes, which was not only costly and inconvenient but also absurd.
But this was unavoidable, as Rwenya Bridge, which used to provide the critical thoroughfare, had been swept away by Cyclone Eline in 2013.
Government has since rebuilt the bridge, and President Mnangagwa, on Friday, obligingly made the journey to commission it.
Friday’s event was reminiscent of the commissioning of Karanda Bridge in Mashonaland Central on April 15, 2021.
The 160-metre-long bridge is critical in providing the shortest route to Karanda Mission Hospital, which is popular with those seeking medical attention.
The bridge could have been constructed in the 1950s but successive administrations reportedly dreaded the costs involved in rebuilding it, according to Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (formerly District Development Fund)’s Mashonaland Central provincial coordinator Mr Keni Clement Mutombo.
This trait of building and rebuilding infrastructure has become emblematic of President Mnangagwa’s administration.
It could be the construction of Lake Gwayi-Shangani to finally provide relief to parched Bulawayo — a project first mulled around 1912 by the colonial administrators.
It could be the construction of Kunzvi Dam to supply potable water to Harare and its environs — a project that has been on the cards for close to three decades. It could also be ongoing efforts to finally complete the Lupane Provincial Hospital — a project that began in 2014 but was abandoned mid-way.
In all these projects, and more, the Second Republic has demonstrated a commendable ability and knack to walk the talk in implementing transformative projects that have an impact on people’s lives.
The Second Republic has even gone a step further by prioritising local companies in building and rebuilding the country’s infrastructure.
This comes with multiple benefits.
In addition to shorter turnaround periods in engaging contractors, it creates employment and encourages gross capital formation, allowing local companies to gain the critical mass and capacity needed to implement even mega capital projects.
It also stems unnecessary outflows of foreign currency to companies engaged to carry out work that can ordinarily be done by local firms.
“We have five companies that we have identified. In the past, when we wanted to do huge projects like dams and roads, the tenders would be won by foreign companies. We have realised that our local companies that we have supported are now doing well,” President Mnangagwa remarked on Friday.
And, of course, this is encapsulated by the President’s philosophy that is premised on the belief that locals should take the lead in industrialising and modernising Zimbabwe (Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo).
Likewise, it resonates with his belief that development does not happen overnight, but it is a step-by-step process.
Brick by brick, Zimbabwe is being rebuilt.
India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been using the same tried-and-tested formula to power the world’s fifth-largest economy. He has been more than prepared to engage Indian companies to “get things done”.
“The growth model that Mr Modi honed, first as chief minister of the state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and then as prime minister, was premised on the state giving a set of favoured corporations concessions on land, on capital, on tax, on environment and building clearance in exchange for setting up shop,” American think tank Carnegie Endowment recently observed.
While Zimbabwe lags behind its peers in terms of infrastructure development, especially after more than 22 years of illegal sanctions, it is comforting that Government continues to increase investments in capital projects. If the trend continues, as is most likely to be the case, Zimbabwe will definitely achieve its goal of industrialising and modernising by the year 2030.
Slowly but surely, the house of stone is shaping up.
The house of stone is shaping up
The Sunday Mail
FOR close to a decade, people who wanted to travel from Mudzi district in Mashonaland East province to Nyanga in Manicaland had to make a round trip through Harare or other longer routes, which was not only costly and inconvenient but also absurd.
But this was unavoidable, as Rwenya Bridge, which used to provide the critical thoroughfare, had been swept away by Cyclone Eline in 2013.
Government has since rebuilt the bridge, and President Mnangagwa, on Friday, obligingly made the journey to commission it.
Friday’s event was reminiscent of the commissioning of Karanda Bridge in Mashonaland Central on April 15, 2021.
The 160-metre-long bridge is critical in providing the shortest route to Karanda Mission Hospital, which is popular with those seeking medical attention.
The bridge could have been constructed in the 1950s but successive administrations reportedly dreaded the costs involved in rebuilding it, according to Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (formerly District Development Fund)’s Mashonaland Central provincial coordinator Mr Keni Clement Mutombo.
This trait of building and rebuilding infrastructure has become emblematic of President Mnangagwa’s administration.
It could be the construction of Lake Gwayi-Shangani to finally provide relief to parched Bulawayo — a project first mulled around 1912 by the colonial administrators.
It could be the construction of Kunzvi Dam to supply potable water to Harare and its environs — a project that has been on the cards for close to three decades. It could also be ongoing efforts to finally complete the Lupane Provincial Hospital — a project that began in 2014 but was abandoned mid-way.
In all these projects, and more, the Second Republic has demonstrated a commendable ability and knack to walk the talk in implementing transformative projects that have an impact on people’s lives.
The Second Republic has even gone a step further by prioritising local companies in building and rebuilding the country’s infrastructure.
This comes with multiple benefits.
In addition to shorter turnaround periods in engaging contractors, it creates employment and encourages gross capital formation, allowing local companies to gain the critical mass and capacity needed to implement even mega capital projects.
It also stems unnecessary outflows of foreign currency to companies engaged to carry out work that can ordinarily be done by local firms.
“We have five companies that we have identified. In the past, when we wanted to do huge projects like dams and roads, the tenders would be won by foreign companies. We have realised that our local companies that we have supported are now doing well,” President Mnangagwa remarked on Friday.
And, of course, this is encapsulated by the President’s philosophy that is premised on the belief that locals should take the lead in industrialising and modernising Zimbabwe (Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo).
Likewise, it resonates with his belief that development does not happen overnight, but it is a step-by-step process.
Brick by brick, Zimbabwe is being rebuilt.
India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been using the same tried-and-tested formula to power the world’s fifth-largest economy. He has been more than prepared to engage Indian companies to “get things done”.
“The growth model that Mr Modi honed, first as chief minister of the state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and then as prime minister, was premised on the state giving a set of favoured corporations concessions on land, on capital, on tax, on environment and building clearance in exchange for setting up shop,” American think tank Carnegie Endowment recently observed.
While Zimbabwe lags behind its peers in terms of infrastructure development, especially after more than 22 years of illegal sanctions, it is comforting that Government continues to increase investments in capital projects. If the trend continues, as is most likely to be the case, Zimbabwe will definitely achieve its goal of industrialising and modernising by the year 2030.
Slowly but surely, the house of stone is shaping up.
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